Following Hashem Like Sheep

איתא משה רבינו ע"ה ראה אותם בשלותם אמר איכה אשא לבדי

It is brought down that Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, saw Bnei Yisrael in their time of tranquility and yet declared, "How can I bear them alone?" (Devarim 1:12).

Even when Bnei Yisrael were tranquil and at peace, Moshe Rabbeinu felt the weight of leading them was beyond what one man could carry alone.

ישעי' אמר איכה היתה לזונה כו' ירמי' אמר איכה ישבה בדד וכבר כ' מזה במ"א כי כל המכשולות שהיו אח"כ בא מזה שלא נמשכו אחר מדרגת מרע"ה

Yeshayahu declared, "How has she become a harlot..." (Yeshayahu 1:21), and Yirmiyahu declared, "How does she sit in solitude..." (Eichah 1:1). And I have already written about this elsewhere, that all the stumblings that came afterward stemmed from this — that Bnei Yisrael did not allow themselves to be drawn after the lofty madreigah of Moshe Rabbeinu.

Both Yeshayahu and Yirmiyahu used the word 'how' (Eichah) to lament Bnei Yisrael's fall, and the Sfas Emes says the root of every later failure was that they did not cling to Moshe Rabbeinu's lofty level.

וכתי' בנים גדלתי ורוממתי כו' ידע שור קונהו וחמור אבוס בעליו ישראל לא ידע כו'

And it is written, "Children I have raised and exalted... the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's trough; Yisrael does not know..." (Yeshayahu 1:2-3).

The navi rebukes Bnei Yisrael that even an ox recognizes its owner, yet Yisrael failed to recognize Hashem who raised them.

הענין הוא כי הקב"ה הרים אותנו מכל הטבע להיות נמשך אחר ההנהגה עליונה למעלה מן ההשגה ולכן הי' דבר גדול מאוד להיות נמשך אחר זה הדרך

The matter is this: the Holy One, Blessed is He, lifted us above all of nature, so that we should be drawn after the supernal conduct that is above all comprehension — and therefore it was a very great thing to allow oneself to be drawn after this path.

Hashem elevated Bnei Yisrael above the natural order so they would follow His supernal guidance that transcends human understanding, which is why following that path is such a great accomplishment.

אבל הכ' אומר ידע שור קנהו

But the verse says, "the ox knows its owner."

The verse points to the ox as the model: it knows and follows its owner.

כל מה דעביד הקב"ה הכל למילף מיני' חכמתא שהבהמה אין לה כלל דעת אעפ"כ נמשכת אחר המנהיג שלה

Whatever the Holy One, Blessed is He, made, He made it all so that one should learn wisdom from it: that the animal has no daas whatsoever, and nevertheless it is drawn after the one who leads it.

Everything Hashem created carries a lesson, and the animal teaches that even lacking any intellect, it still follows its leader instinctively.

וכמו כן מצד שהקב"ה בחר בנו וכביכול הוא עצמו מנהיג אותנו

So too, since the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose us and, as it were, He Himself leads us,

Because Hashem chose us and personally leads us, He stands to us as the leader stands to His flock.

מצד זה יכולין להימשך אחריו כבהמה אחר הרועה

by virtue of this we are able to be drawn after Him like an animal after the shepherd,

This relationship makes it possible for us to follow Hashem with the simple, total trust of an animal following its shepherd.

כמ"ש ואתן כו' צאן מרעיתי אדם אתם

as it is written, "And you are... the flock of My pasture; you are men" (Yechezkel 34:31).

The verse in Yechezkel calls Bnei Yisrael the flock of Hashem's pasture while still affirming their dignity as men.

ובאמת דור הראשון כך הי' כמ"ש משכני אחריך נרוצה

And in truth, the first generation was indeed like this, as it is written, "Draw me, after You we will run" (Shir HaShirim 1:4).

The generation that left Mitzrayim actually attained this, expressing it in the words 'Draw me, after You we will run.'

משכני להיות נמשך מן דרך הטבע

"Draw me" — to be drawn away from the path of nature,

'Draw me' is the plea to be pulled away from following mere nature.

כבהמה נמשכנו אחריך

"after You we will run" — like an animal, we were drawn after You.

'After You we will run' describes following Hashem with the wholehearted simplicity of an animal.

וזה השבח מזכירין לבנ"י תמיד לכתך אחרי במדבר כו'

And this is the praise that is constantly recalled to Bnei Yisrael: "your following after Me in the wilderness..." (Yirmiyahu 2:2).

Hashem forever praises Bnei Yisrael for following Him into the wilderness with that kind of trust.

איתא ישראל לא ידע לשעבר

It is brought down: "Yisrael does not know" — referring to the past,

The phrase 'Yisrael does not know' is read as pointing to a failure to sense the past.

עמי לא התבונן להבא

"My people does not contemplate" — referring to the future.

The parallel phrase 'My people does not contemplate' is read as a failure to sense the future.

כי הקב"ה אצלו עבר ועתיד שוה ויכולין בנ"י להרגיש מן העבר והעתיד ע"י שנמשכין אחריו כבהמה

For by the Holy One, Blessed is He, past and future are alike, and Bnei Yisrael are able to sense both the past and the future by being drawn after Him like an animal.

Since past and future are equal before Hashem, when Bnei Yisrael cling to Him with animal-like simplicity they can perceive both as one.

וקורין פרשה זו בין המצרים לזכור ולהשתוקק אחר מעשה אבותינו הראשונים שנמשכו אחר הקב"ה כמ"ש אלכה ואשובה אל אישי הראשון

And we read this parsha during the period of Bein HaMetzarim, in order to remember and to yearn for the deeds of our early forefathers, who were drawn after the Holy One, Blessed is He, as it is written, "I will go and return to my first Husband" (Hoshea 2:9).

We read Parshas Devarim during Bein HaMetzarim to reawaken longing for our forefathers' devotion and to return to Hashem, our 'first Husband.'

הוא אש התלהבות הגדול שהי' לנו בראשונה להיות נמשך אחריו ולשכוח כל עוה"ז:

That is the fire of the great enthusiasm that we had at the very beginning — to be drawn after Him and to forget all of this world.

That devotion was the burning enthusiasm of our beginnings, when we were ready to follow Hashem and let go of all worldly attachments.

Summary: The Sfas Emes opens with the shared word 'Eichah' of Moshe Rabbeinu and the nevi'im, teaching that every later downfall of Bnei Yisrael traces back to their not allowing themselves to be drawn after the lofty madreigah of Moshe Rabbeinu. Hashem lifted Bnei Yisrael above nature to follow His supernal guidance that transcends comprehension, and the model for this is the ox that 'knows its owner' — an animal with no daas that nevertheless follows its leader with complete simplicity. Because Hashem chose us and personally leads us, we can be drawn after Him like a flock after its shepherd, as the generation of the wilderness expressed in 'Draw me, after You we will run.' Through this animal-like dveikus, in which one is pulled away from mere nature, Bnei Yisrael can even sense past and future as one, since both are alike before Hashem. We read this parsha during Bein HaMetzarim to rekindle the fire of that original enthusiasm and to yearn to return to Hashem, our first Husband, forgetting all of this world.